Every Day Is A Winding Road
by ShortNSweet
Summary: 2 years after her graduation from Hogwarts and 3 years since the defeat of Voldemort Ginny Weasley's life is completely wonderful...except for the fact that she wants to be in love...(*NEW CHAPTERS UPLOADED 12-20-02, 2 new chapters :)
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello to all! Alright I would like to begin by apologizing about my story "Only Time Will Tell". My life went into this crazy spin end of May (when I last updated) and I had 0 time to write and I also was at this awful stopping point. I had the worst writer's block for that story. I backed myself into a corner. Anyways, I have been thinking about this plot for about 2 weeks.and I hope you all enjoy it (  
  
Disclaimer: PLEASE. Like I own Harry Potter. As if! (sorry.saw Clueless again the other day). The brilliant characters and what not belongs to JK Rowling. I just play around with them in my world..hehe. OH and the title I got from a song that was popular maybe 5 years ago. Anyone know who sang it? Hehe.  
  
  
  
"Every Day Is A Winding Road"  
  
Prologue, A Harry Potter fan fiction by ShortNsweet  
  
The beginning of summer was always amazing. The sunrise in the morning was always breathtaking and as the day proceeded the sun would always hang high in the sky beating it's burning hot rays down on the people below. The grass was a bright green; the leaves on trees were just as brilliantly green. Flowers were beautiful shades of colors and always stood tall in the early morning, but mid day would droop due to the burning sun. The quaint village of Hogsmeade always seemed to make summer more incredible. Maybe it was the bustle of people down the streets, or the adorable little cottages that lined the streets farther past all the shops, or maybe it was the feeling that lingered in the air that suggested something was going to happen. Something unexpected. Something special. This summer season especially. Since Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort a year before, there was a certain feeling of celebration in the air.  
  
Ginny Weasley inhaled the fresh early morning summer air as she stood on her front porch with a mug of steaming tea. She lived in a small cottage right on the edge of Hogsmeade and had a fabulous view of people coming into town to do their shopping. Madam Rosmerta waved to Ginny as she bustled towards the Three Broomsticks to open up for the day. Ginny smiled back and she felt quite content. Not only did she love summer, but she also loved the way things were in her life at the moment. She held a steady job working at the local bookstore, Dickens and Reed. She loved where she lived, and while she didn't always get along with her mother, she loved her family as well. Two days earlier she had attended Charlies wedding to a lovely woman named Charlotte Danillya. It was nice to see her whole family together and happy. But while Ginny was at the wedding, she couldn't help but feel that there was something missing from her life. Something, that for some reason, she'd always run from. Love. Ginny was the only woman at the wedding that did not come with a date. Her mother gave her a withering look when she had entered the church alone and Ginny brushed it off. Her mother was always trying to set her up with various young wizards and Ginny always turned her down. During the war it was easy to give her mother an excuse of how it was unsafe to get close to any man in fear of putting herself in danger. Her mother had accepted that, but as soon as Voldemort had been defeated and the war had ended her mother began pushing her to find a man again. Ginny let out a sigh as she thought about how horribly sad it was to have her own mother trying to find her a mate. She always figured that love would find her and that she didn't need to go searching for it. But lately, it felt as though everything in her life was piecing itself together, like a puzzle, only there was one piece missing. 


	2. Too Early, But Not Too Late

A/N: Thanks to my ONE REVIEW.sniff.tear.sniff haha. I'm going to keep going since I don't give up easily. Please review you guys.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or any of this. It's like barbie dolls, millions of people have the same toy but do totally different things with it. Weird analogy.  
  
"Every Day Is A Winding Road" Chapter 1, Too Early But Not Too Late A Harry Potter fan fiction by ShortNSweet  
  
BAM!  
  
"OUCH!" Harry Potter abruptly sat up in bed after something hit him in the head. He looked over at his night stand to see a dark brown owl perched on his lamp. Peering around to find the offending object the owl must have dropped on him Harry discovered a letter on the not used pillow beside him. He ripped it open and found:  
  
Dear Mr. Potter, The minister of magic, Sirius Black requests it of you to be in his office at 8 A.M. this morning. We thank you for your patience.  
  
Mrs. Rita Lowdes  
  
  
  
Harry looked over at his clock and groaned. It was 7 A.M. He dragged himself into bed and over to the shower. Ever since Sirius' name had been cleared and he had become minister of magic Harry had debated whether this was a good or bad thing. Harry worked right next to Sirius as chairman of the Order Of the Phoenix, which had been established in Harry's 5th year by Dumbledore. It was a business that gathered together the best aurors in the world to be on call at any time if there was any sign of dark magic. Since Voldemort's defeat 3 years earlier, there wasn't much need for the order, but Sirius still dragged Harry into his office almost every day to do various things for him. While Harry loved to see his godfather, he hated waking up in the mornings.  
  
An hour later Harry found himself walking into the modest ministry of magic building. He smiled at a few people who looked admiringly at him as he passed them on his was to Sirius' office. He never completely adjusted to his fame. He stepped into Sirius' office, where Sirius himself was sitting at his desk writing on a piece of parchment. Harry fell down into one of the chairs across from Sirius' desk.  
  
"You can't write me your OWN letters?"  
  
Sirius smiled, but didn't look up from what he was writing, "Mrs. Lowdes needed something to do, so I let her send you the letter. Plus, " he looked up and grinned devilishly at Harry, "it's nice to have power."  
  
Harry laughed out loud. Sirius never lost his sense of humor. Through everything that had happened, he was still a Marauder and Harry loved him for not loosing that. "So what, pray tell, am I doing in your office at this ungodly hour?"  
  
Sirius finished writing his letter and handed it to the owl patiently waiting beside him which took off immediately. He folded his hands and looked seriously across the desk at his godson. "Harry, you know I care for you just like a son."  
  
Harry squirmed uncomfortably, "yes."  
  
"And I'm here to look out for your well being."  
  
"Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to greatly dislike what I'm about to hear."  
  
"Why don't you date?"  
  
Harry's head snapped up. Off all questions this was the one he least expected to hear. "Er.I."  
  
"Harry I feel it's time for you to find someone."  
  
Harry put his head in his hands. This was not the way to start a day.  
  
*  
  
"Ouch!" Ginny looked up at the shelf above her that was now empty of books, all of which had just fallen on her. She groaned. Shelving new arrivals was the worst part of her job. Not only was it horribly boring, but horrible difficult to find room on the already jammed shelves. Ginny looked around to make sure no one was around and pulled her wand out of her sweater. "Pidanta" she whispered pointing at the books on the floor, which flew up to the shelf in their proper order. Ginny smiled. She was only allowed to do magic at the bookstore for emergency purposes. Her boss, Lana Defala felt it unnecessary to disturb customers. Ginny had debated with her many times that it wouldn't disturb a witch or wizard to see magic being done, but it was a losing battle for Ginny. She sighed as she looked at her cart full of new books just itching to be shelved. She wheeled it into the next aisle and got up on the step ladder and had just started shelving when she heard, "Ginny?".  
  
Ginny turned at looked down and fell off the ladder in shock, but was caught by strong arms wrapped around her. Harry Potter set her up straight and looked into her eyes with his bright green ones.  
  
"Are you alright? I didn't mean to frighten you."  
  
"Oh! No! I'm fine. You didn't frighten me."  
  
He smiled "alright then. I didn't know you worked here"  
  
She avoided looking into his eyes and tried to keep herself calm. How was it that after 13 years of knowing Harry Potter she could still turn into a puddle of nothing when he looked at her? "What are YOU doing here?" she asked him, avoiding talking about her job.  
  
"I don't know. I guess I'm getting away? Hogsmeade seemed the perfect place to do so, so here I am. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just browsing I guess."  
  
"What are you getting away from?"  
  
Harry looked a bit uncomfortable at her question and she immediately said "oh you don't have to tell me anything. I was just being nosy. It happens after being cooped up in a shop for hours at a time."  
  
He laughed and she couldn't help but notice his perfect smile. She was slightly reminded of Gilderoy Lockhart, her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in 1st year. He had a movie star's smile, only Harry's was nicer and friendlier and less cocky.  
  
"Why don't you get out then? When's your lunch break, we should have lunch. You and I haven't talked a lot in quite awhile."  
  
She looked up at him, surprising herself, "well you've been busy what with everything that's happened". Harry was always flying all over the place to talk about his defeat against Voldemort. He was a celebrity everywhere he went.  
  
Harry frowned "Unfortunately I have been lately. I haven't had a lot of time for.other things as Sirius kindly pointed out to me this morning" his frown got a little deeper, "but I'm doing things for me now. So.lunch?"  
  
Ginny felt very confused by this invitation. Was this a date, or a friendly lunch? She pushed away all thoughts of it being a date. She was crazy. Harry Potter could have anyone in the whole world. Why would he pick her?  
  
*  
  
Harry sat outside of Dickens and Reed waiting for Ginny to collect her things and come out. He didn't know what possessed him to ask Ginny to lunch, but something had and he was glad that he did. Sirius had inspired in this morning to get out there, and begin dating. He didn't tell Sirius that, he would never admit to Sirius being right. He gave him loads of excuses, women wanted him for the wrong reason, he had no time.the list went on. Sirius came back with answers to all of these and Harry got tired of arguing with him and left.  
  
Harry would go to Hogsmeade sometimes and just walk around. Sometimes he would stop in on George and Fred Weasley who now owned Zonko's joke store, and would constantly stock it with new things for Harry to test.  
  
Sometimes he would go to the 3 Broomsticks where he was always running into old friends that were fun to talk to.until talk turned to the war, a subject Harry did not like to discuss. The war had changed everyone's lives and made everyone more happy and comfortable, but for Harry it had become out of control. Newspapers printing things about him, people following him.he never got used to it and knew he never would. Fame was one thing Harry Potter didn't want.  
  
But whenever he felt the absolute stress of everything in his life come tumbling down on him, he would go to Dickens and Reed. He had lied to Ginny, he did know she worked there. He would use his invisibility cloak and watch her. She was so beautiful and graceful. He didn't know when his feelings for her had come into play. They had always been friends at Hogwarts, but when Harry had left and begun his pursuit towards defeating Voldemort, there had been no time for friends. They would all have been in danger, so Harry pushed everyone away. It wasn't a happy time but it was over now and things had gone back to normal.  
  
Ginny stepped out of the shop and Harry caught his breath looking at her. She was absolutely beautiful. As he got up and smiled at her, he couldn't help but think that maybe Sirius was right.  
  
  
  
A/N: Now it's not that hard, go to the little purple button down there and PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	3. I Spy

A/N: WOW you guys it has been a month since I updated and I am SO SORRY. I find myself constantly having really bad writer's block. I want this to be a good story, so I am trying my best to keep it that way. Thanks to the 7 reviewers, I hope I get more reviews soon! OH and to FortuneCookie, no the name of the bookstore is not really Dickens and Reed in the books. I don't think they ever mention there being a bookstore in Hogsmeade in the books, so I created one. I actually got the name from a bookstore here in the town I live! Onto the story!  
  
"Every Day is a Winding Road" Chapter 2, I spy  
  
Ginny sat across from Harry Potter in wonderment.  
  
He was laughing at things she said, he was looking at her in an almost scrutinizing way, and best of all when women passed their table checking him out, his eyes never left Ginny's. She was amazed at how much fun she was having with him, and how she was able to complete many coherent sentences! This had never happened before and she pondered the change that could have occurred between them. Or with her. Or both.  
  
"Ginny?" Harry interrupted her internal reverie.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This may be a bit ..presumptuous of me, but I heard that you had a small cottage here in Hogsmeade ..I would love to see it if you would allow me ."  
  
She almost sighed. He was so sweet. He was looking at her with big puppy dog eyes that could almost be apologetic. Of course she didn't mind if he came over.  
  
Oh my goodness. Harry Potter wants to come to my house!  
  
Harry Potter, the boy she'd cared for for so many years wanted to come to her house.  
  
Oh my goodness.  
  
OH MY GOODNESS I DIDN'T ANSWER HIM!  
  
"YES .yes of course" she said in a more subdued voice the second time. She felt herself begin to blush, she must seem like a psycho who belonged in the psychiatric ward of St. Mungo's.  
  
He smiled, and she swore the room got brighter. "Great!" He quickly paid the check and they walked out of the Three Broomsticks. "You lead the way" he said with a flourish of his hand. Ginny smiled and him and did just that.  
  
*  
  
"Sirius, are you insane?"  
  
"I wonder sometimes .."  
  
"Be serious! You told the boy to find himself a girlfriend?! You can't tell someone to go out and SEARCH for love! Love must find you!"  
  
"Remus .."  
  
"And besides that, he's probably going to rebel against you and turn down every woman that he's asked out by just to show you that he doesn't need a woman!"  
  
"Remus .."  
  
"And FURTHER MORE he's going to end up alone in a large flat with only a strange friend like YOU and his owl to keep him company!!!!!"  
  
"REMUS!!!!!!"  
  
Remus Lupin finally stopped fuming at his friend. "What?!"  
  
Sirius sighed, "If you would LISTEN to me for two seconds I could EXPLAIN to you."  
  
Remus crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair Harry had occupied earlier that morning across from Sirius' desk. Remus had been like a second godfather to Harry, helping Sirius support Harry as he grew up. It was no surprise he was reacting as he was.  
  
"First of all, I did not TELL him to get a girlfriend, I SUGGESTED that he should look into it."  
  
Remus mumbled something that sounded slightly like 'same difference' under his breath, but Sirius kept going.  
  
"Second, he is NOT going to 'rebel' against me. Why would he do such a thing? He turned down every woman that asked him out BEFORE I spoke to him anyway! Besides, he seemed almost INTRESTED in the idea of finding someone."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"And LAST, even if he DOES end up alone, which I doubt he will considering how many women throw themselves at him daily, it would be perfectly alright. Look at us! We're alone and basically just have each other to rely on, and we're not crazy!"  
  
Remus gave him a dubious look.  
  
"Well YOU might be, but I am perfectly normal."  
  
Remus snorted.  
  
"Well .I could be."  
  
Remus rolled his eyes, "So Harry seemed interested in finding someone eh? Who do you think that he'll approach, if anyone?"  
  
Sirius was about to speak when it hit him. A sly smile slowly began to form at the corners of his mouth.  
  
"Oh no! Not the smile! I don't trust that smile! Whatever it is that you're thinking, NO! NO NO NO NO NO!"  
  
Sirius ignored him and walked to his storage cabinet where he pulled out a flat object with a gold frame. To the human eye, it would appear to be a small mirror, but Remus knew otherwise.  
  
"A Selenter? Why ..?"  
  
Selenters were very fascinating and rare objects that not many wizards owned anymore. Selenters were made to take a small look into a person's daily life. Sirius looked straight down into the Selenter and saw his own reflection only for a moment before he clearly spoke "Harry Potter". The mirror began to move as if it was water and a small stone was just dropped into it. The picture cleared, and Sirius peered down at it and grinned devilishly.  
  
"Looks like our boy's already begun his quest".  
  
Remus looked down as well and could not help but smile.  
  
"What is it with Potters and redheads?"  
  
*  
  
"Ginny this place is great".  
  
She blushed, "well ..it is for me. It works".  
  
Harry was walking around the cottage in awe. Ginny had done so much on her own, she had become such an incredible person that he regretted not getting to know her in years past. He stood by the sliding glass door that led out into the small garden.  
  
Ginny came up behind him and unlocked the door and they stepped outside.  
  
"This is my favorite place to be. I feel very much at peace here." She confided. She walked over and sat on a small stone bench surrounded by beautiful blossoming pink and white roses.  
  
"It's lovely" Harry smiled, "a girls' dream".  
  
She smiled shyly and looked down at her feet. Harry looked at her and hesitated before going over and standing in front of her. She looked up and moved over, clearly offering him the seat beside her. He took it. He looked around and pondered for what seemed to be the thousandth time why he did not see this amazing girl right in front of him this entire time. He realized he was staring intently at her and she turned and looked him right in the eye. His face was very close to hers and he realized with a shocking feeling that he wanted to kiss this girl. One date and he wanted to kiss her. He saw her moisten her lips, maybe from nerves and he started to lean in when ..he felt someone watching him. He jumped away and looked around and realized that no one was there. He suddenly figured out what was going on.  
  
"Ginny, I had an amazing time with you today, I will be seeing you soon, I have to go." And with that he apperated away leaving Ginny stunned, confused and a bit hurt.  
  
A/N: REVIEW! I PROMISE that I will update MUCH faster this time. If I get reviews, I'll update in at the least, a week. Much luv~ 


	4. Forgive

A/N: Thanks again for all reviews and thanks for Kat for putting up with my grammar problems (  
  
Every Day Is A Winding Road Chapter 3, Forgive.  
  
Ginny blinked. Harry was gone. He just.disappeared.  
  
Was it something I did?  
  
Did he realize I wanted to kiss him and get upset?  
  
She very calmly walked back into her house, thoughts flying through her mind. She sat down on her couch, put her face in her hands, and finally let the tears flow down her face.  
  
Why is it that all men that I date run from me?  
  
What is it about me?  
  
With a million questions running through her brain, Ginny walked into her bedroom, shut the door and fell onto the bed.  
  
*  
  
Harry stood outside the door of the same office he had been inside that very same morning. He continually took deep breaths trying to calm down so he wouldn't destroy the door and scream every hex he knew at Sirius, and he supposed Remus who was probably also in the room. Harry listened carefully and heard voices mumbling inside the room.  
  
"Where would he have GONE?"  
  
"How rude of him to just take off like that.good job teaching him manners Sirius!"  
  
"EXCUSE ME? I believe I was not the only one TEACHING him thank you."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
Harry cleared his throat to make his presence known.  
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
"Do you think."  
  
"OH bloody hell, we're going to be killed! Put the Selenter away!"  
  
Harry sighed realizing his suspicions were correct. He heard clamoring inside the room. Sirius' closet was very cluttered, he was sure.  
  
Harry opened the door to see Sirius slamming the closet door shut and Remus scrambling back to his chair.  
  
"Harry! How smashing to see you!"  
  
Harry fell down into the second chair in front of Sirius' desk. "Yes, considering you just saw me this morning, I'm sure you've been going through withdrawal."  
  
Sirius let out a nervous chuckle letting himself down into his chair behind the desk.  
  
"Harry, what brings you here?"  
  
Harry glared at his former professor and person he considered his second godfather. "Oh.just coming for a little CHAT."  
  
"Oh.chat.chat.good."  
  
"Having problems completing sentences Remus?"  
  
"Oh.no.no."  
  
"Because from the last I knew, you only mumbled when you were nervous, and WHAT would there be to be nervous of WITH ME?!"  
  
"Harry."  
  
"Maybe.I did something and you're afraid to reprimand me? No.that cannot be it; I've done nothing wrong. Sirius! DEAR godfather! Why so quiet? You're NEVER quiet!"  
  
"I."  
  
"Are YOU nervous too? Now, WHATEVER is there to be NERVOUS about?! Are you two Marauders hiding something from me? Your DEAR godson?"  
  
"We."  
  
"You what?" Harry was having a great time torturing the two of them; this was an opportunity that was to be taken advantage of.  
  
"We."  
  
"You..you.WERE SPYING ON ME?!?!?" Harry yelped, leaning forward in his chair.  
  
"YES!" Sirius screamed.  
  
"NO!" Remus yelled at the same moment.  
  
Harry leaned back grinning. "Well? Which is it?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Harry crossed his arms.  
  
"Yes." the two mumbled, hanging their heads like sad children. Harry couldn't help but smile. This must be how Dumbledore must've felt when the two boys were in schools. Except instead of two there were four.  
  
"I am very angry."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I cannot believe that you two would INVADE on my privacy like that! Don't I have enough people doing that WITHOUT the two of you?"  
  
More silence.  
  
"I understand you're looking out for my best interests, but really, is that the way to do it?"  
  
Still silence.  
  
"I've got to think of SOME punishment.I KNOW, let's find YOU TWO girlfriends! Sirius, Mrs. Lowdes out front seems to have quite an eye for you! I could go give her a hint or."  
  
"DON'T YOU DARE!!"  
  
"We get it, we get it." Remus groaned. "Harry, you sure had us going."  
  
"I was serious."  
  
"Finding US women?"  
  
"OH, no, I would never try THAT. WAY too difficult."  
  
"This coming from the boy who defeated the Dark one." Sirius grinned.  
  
Harry glared at him. "I MEANT I was serious about the other part."  
  
"Ah, the don't interfere in my life part."  
  
"Glad you were listening."  
  
"Look, Harry, we really were looking out for you." Remus said.  
  
"Yes, we DO love you." Sirius said, pretending as if he was crying.  
  
"Our Minister of Magic ladies and gentlemen."  
  
"Are we done now? I should be getting back to school. This is my day off but."  
  
"Yes Remus, you and Harry may leave."  
  
Suddenly, something hit Harry.  
  
"YOU PRATS MADE ME TAKE OFF ON GINNY!!!!"  
  
Remus fell back down into the chair. "We've got awhile still."  
  
*  
  
"HERMIONE!!!!"  
  
"Must you SCREAM?!" Hermione bustled out of the kitchen of she and Ron's small apartment home.  
  
"In this situation, yes."  
  
Hermione sighed. She and Ron had been living together for over a year, and while she loved him very much, she would always think he was a bit dramatic. "What's the problem?"  
  
"I just walked in the door and I have not kissed you."  
  
"You took me away from my cooking for that?"  
  
Ron gave her a sly smile. "No.for this." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him and into a long, passionate kiss. When he pulled away Hermione smoothed her hair slightly breathlessly.  
  
"Oh.alright. You can pull me away for that."  
  
Ron grinned. "How was your day?" He asked.  
  
"Fine", she called while running back into the kitchen. She smiled as she stirred one of her pots. She and Ron had finally admitted their care for each other about the end of 7th year, when things were beginning to get bad with Voldemort and they needed to come together, to support Harry.and each other. Hermione still could not believe they had survived each other's company for almost 3 years now.  
  
Hermione brought the food to their small table, and the two sat down.  
  
"So, how was work today?"  
  
Hermione smiled. She loved her job working as the Arithmancy professor at Hogwarts, but she loved Ron too. Fortunately, Dumbledore did not request she live on school grounds, and because she only taught in the mornings, she was not there terribly often. "It was fine. OH, I heard from your sister today."  
  
"Did you? How's Ginny?"  
  
"Ron, please don't eat that fast, it's not proper. She's alright."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "What did she have to say?"  
  
"Well, she owled me because Harry took her out."  
  
Ron's fork hit his plate with a loud clatter as his face jolted up towards her. "Harry did WHAT?"  
  
Hermione calmly continued eating. "He took Ginny out to lunch. But there's nothing to worry about, he left very promptly after they came back to Ginny's cottage. Ginny was actually quite upset about it."  
  
Ron was breathing very heavily. "My.best friend.took OUT my.little sister.and then.went back to her..HOUSE.and then..LEFT HER?!"  
  
"Yes, I believe that's what I was told."  
  
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?"  
  
"Because I'm the rational one of the two of us. The way I see it, this is a good thing. Ginny has been pining after Harry for YEARS, and Harry's been in love with Ginny since 6th year, whether or not he knew that is a different story.it's about time the two of them got together!"  
  
Ron's face was a very bright shade of red.  
  
Hermione sighed and put down her fork. Apparently she was not going to get away with just calmly explaining this. "Ron, wouldn't you like them to have even a little bit of what we have? Harry was so good about the two of us."  
  
"But this is different!"  
  
"Only because she's your sister."  
  
"Exactly"  
  
"And you're her brother"  
  
"Yes. Her older, WISER brother."  
  
"And you want her to be happy?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then accept this."  
  
Ron groaned and began hitting his head against the table.  
  
"Ron PLEASE, not at the table!"  
  
* Harry inhaled deeply. He knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Still, no answer. He took a deep breath and Apparated into Ginny's small cottage. All the lights were out and there was no sound coming from anywhere.  
  
He walked to the sliding glass door and peeked outside. No one. He walked over to a closed door and silently opened it. There lying on a heap on a large bed was Ginny. She was fast asleep and small snores were coming from her. Harry couldn't help but feel guilty. She'd obviously been crying from the tear stains on her peacefully sleeping face. Harry silently closed the door and exited the house. Forgiveness was going to have to be earned.. 


	5. But Don't Forget!

A/N: My apologies for being late with this chapter. I had to pick which way I wanted my plot to go . hope you enjoy!  
  
Every Day Is A Winding Road By Angelina Chapter 4: . But Don't Forget!  
  
Harry peered out the window of his flat. It was a beautiful clear day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.and yet Harry still felt glum.  
  
He'd Owled Ginny every day for the past three days explaining his untimely departure. He hadn't received word back.  
  
Apparently sweet letters weren't enough for women anymore these days.  
  
Harry knew he had to do something more to win her forgiveness, but what that something more was, he did not know.  
  
He couldn't go to Sirius. He was completely bogged down at the Ministry. There had been some sort of dark magic being used in the northern areas of Ireland and it was causing great disruption in the Ministry.  
  
Harry had been informed that he was not needed in the case. Although he had a feeling it was because they wanted him to rest in case some serious dark magic was found elsewhere.  
  
Remus was stuck at Hogwarts. He normally came down for regular visits, but he was so busy grading papers and getting back into the swing of things at the school that he just didn't have the time.  
  
Harry thought long and hard about who else to go to with his predicament.  
  
Not Ron . he would kill me .  
  
Fred and George? No . they would make fun of me. Endless wedding jokes.  
  
Charlie? Nope . honeymoon. He would also kill me.  
  
Bill? More death on my part ..  
  
Then, like a brick from the sky it hit him.  
  
Hermione!!  
  
Harry jolted up from his sitting position on his sofa and began to retrieve his coat.  
  
Of course Hermione would know what to do! She was a woman after all. Besides, she knew Ginny better than anyone else did. She would help him.  
  
*  
  
Hermione was yet again bustling around her kitchen. Ron was gone for the rest of the afternoon on Ministry business. She didn't expect him home until later. She was looking forward to making some tea and curling up with a nice, relaxing book. She was heading towards the living room when there was a knock at the door. Curiously, Hermione set down her tea and went to the door.  
  
"Harry! What a surprise, come on in!"  
  
Harry walked in. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know I wanted to stop by . I just . is Ron home?"  
  
Hermione frowned at him. "No. He's off doing Ministry things. What's wrong Harry? You look a bit . grim."  
  
He shook his head and sank down on the sofa.  
  
"You want some tea?"  
  
He shook his head again.  
  
"Do you want a book?"  
  
He glared at her.  
  
Hermione smiled and sat down beside him. "You want to talk?"  
  
Harry quickly launched into his story about Ginny, their date, and of course, the Selenter incident with his meddling godfathers.  
  
When he finished, he looked at her with a plea for help in his eyes. "What am I supposed to do if she refuses to talk to me?"  
  
"Have you even tried to go and see her? Talk to her? Explain?"  
  
Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. "What's the point if she won't even take a moment to respond to my owls? I need to do something that will show her I care."  
  
At that precise moment the door of the flat flew open. Ron stood in the doorway with a look of fury on his face.  
  
"Ron ." Hermione warned.  
  
Ron growled, his eyes staring daggers at Harry.  
  
"Harry needed to talk to me about Ginny."  
  
That got Ron's attention. His head snapped up in surprise. Then, he regained his angry stare at Harry. "What would there be to talk about since he already ran off on her?!"  
  
"I didn't run off you twit . well, I DID but ."  
  
"But ." Ron growled stepping towards Harry menacingly.  
  
"But.I knew Sirius and Remus were spying on me. I care for your sister Ron. I want our time together to be special. Now, she won't even hear me out and I came to Hermione asking what to do. I'm asking you not to make this harder than it already is."  
  
"Why should I even consider that?!"  
  
"7th year. Need I say more?."  
  
**  
  
Harry tossed and turned in his bed. It was pitch black in his dorm at school and he could not get to sleep. Everything that was to happen in the next two months was weighing heavily on his mind. He grumbled and gave in to his restlessness as he sat up. He pulled back the bed curtains and opened the door to go down to the common room and think by the fire for awhile.  
  
Too bad he didn't notice the empty bed beside his.  
  
He padded down the stairs, his mind elsewhere when he saw something that made him almost fall face first onto the floor.  
  
Hermione and Ron were on one of the comfy chairs in the common room.  
  
One of the comfy chairs in the common room made for ONE person . and Hermione and Ron were on the chair together. Kissing. Passionately.  
  
Harry's jaw dropped and a small squeak came from his mouth.  
  
It was enough.  
  
Ron and Hermione jolted apart and frantically looked around for the source of the noise. Then, they saw Harry gaping at them.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione gasped, "What are you doing here?!"  
  
Harry emitted another squeak.  
  
"Harry . we are so . sorry . RON!"  
  
"Yeah . yeah . sorry." Ron was in a world of his own that consisted entirely of Hermione's mouth. Well, that and other things.  
  
"You .. You .. You .." Harry sputtered.  
  
"We're .?"  
  
"TOGETHER?!" He yelped.  
  
"SHHHHH!!!" the couple shushed him.  
  
"Yes!" Hermione whispered. "We just realized it ourselves.we truly are sorry that we didn't tell you sooner. It's just . with times getting harder, we finally just needed to admit this to ourselves."  
  
Harry nodded. If there was one thing he understood, it was the need for love in this time of war.  
  
"Are you . alright?" She asked cautiously.  
  
"Bed .."  
  
Harry slowly walked back up the stairs to his bedroom. When Hermione safely heard the door closed she turned to face Ron who grinned at her.  
  
"I've never heard Harry so incoherent before in my life" She said with wonder.  
  
"No more Harry ." Ron pulled her towards him.  
  
"Ron! You should care about your best friend more than that! I read once in .."  
  
**  
  
"Oh . yeah" Ron mumbled after remembering the story.  
  
"Yeah. So you owe me all right? Now can we please focus? I would miss her a lot."  
  
"Harry! I've just thought of something!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Mind telling me?"  
  
"Here's what you'll do ."  
  
*  
  
Ginny was sitting in a small café in Hogsmeade during her break from work. Her eyes were glued to a book called The Changing Faces of Dragons that Charlie had given her the Christmas before. Though she would never want to go into the field, she was fascinated with the world of dragons.  
  
She looked up from her book to look at the clock on the wall behind the counter. It was almost 8:00 in the evening! She quickly closed her book, gathered her things and left the café.  
  
She walked home trying to enjoy the brisk air but all she could think of was Harry. He had sent her several notes in the past few days. Trying to explain why he couldn't be with her, she was sure. She never bothered to read them. She knew what they would say, and she was hurt enough with his leaving. She didn't need his excuses.  
  
She walked onto the porch of her house and took out her key. She unlocked the door, opened it.and gasped.  
  
When she'd opened the door a breeze of rose petals and gone through the air. There were rose petals all over her floor. She delicately stepped into the room and closed the door and looked around her with awe.  
  
There were petals covering every inch of her floor! She walked into her bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen to find the same thing there. She searched her house for an explanation, but couldn't find one anywhere. Until . she happened to look outside her sliding glass door to the garden. Sitting on the bench where she and Harry had sat right before they had kissed, were two dozen red roses with a small note attached.  
  
Ginny raced outside and with her heart pounding opened the note.  
  
There aren't enough roses in the world to show you how special you are to me. If I never see you again, I'll always cherish the moment we had on this bench. Love, Harry  
  
Ginny put her hand to her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek. He did want to be with her! She suddenly realized how stupid it had been of her to have not read his letters! She raced inside and into her bedroom where she pulled open a drawer of her nightstand. She pulled out the letters and frantically began to read them one by one.  
  
*  
  
From Harry's vintage point crouched behind a large bush several feet from Ginny's garden, he turned to Hermione and Ron, who had both assisted his mission.  
  
"Well?" He asked.  
  
Hermione smiled serenely. "You're forgiven" 


	6. Startling Appearances

A/N: Hey All! Oh my goodness! Thank you for the very flattering reviews! You guys rock for liking my story! Please, if you have any suggestions, let me know alright? I would LOVE to hear your imput! (Maybe for a sequel.?) Thanks!! OH, and OF COURSE thank you to Kat for taking the time to beta this (  
  
Every Day is A Winding Road By Angelina Chapter 5, Startling Appearances  
  
Remus had a free class period.  
  
Leaning back in his plush red desk chair, he sipped at his perfectly warm tea, completely enjoying the serenity of the moment. Unfortunately for him, he missed the small pop from the fireplace.  
  
"REMUS!!!"  
  
"AH!" Remus toppled out of his chair, his tea spilling all over him.  
  
Lying on the floor, wet, with his hair all over the place he turned to the fireplace to see Sirius' cheerful face.  
  
"What. Do. You. Want?"  
  
"Ohh.Sorry about that one mate."  
  
Remus got up. "Don't you have.Minister things you should be doing?" He flopped back into his chair. "I thought when you became Minister of Magic, and I'm still at a loss to how that happened, you would have less time to bother me. I see I was sorely mistaken."  
  
Sirius grinned. I don't bother you and you know it.  
  
Remus grunted.  
  
"Well, I came to discuss something with you."  
  
"Oh gracious sakes, you actually HAVE a point? Please, do tell. I'm waiting with bated breath."  
  
Sirius continued as if he hadn't heard Remus, "We need to give Harry the ring."  
  
Now Remus was serious. "The ring?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "What other massive ring do you know of that we would give Harry?"  
  
Remus leaned forward in his chair. "Why would we be giving Harry the ring?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes again, making his friend feel very dim. "For Ginny of course!"  
  
"You're a stupid bloke, you know that right?"  
  
Sirius frowned. "Why is that stupid?"  
  
"Should I remind you of what happened the last time we meddled in Harry's love life?"  
  
"Eh, a little lecture from my godson."  
  
Remus groaned, "Little? It was massive. He was very angry, and he certainly didn't trust us for awhile after that little stunt."  
  
"This is different."  
  
"Please, enlighten me."  
  
"I don't have time."  
  
"Ironic, now that I actually want to talk to you, you have to work."  
  
Sirius smiled, "My Ministry calls! Let's talk about it at lunch tomorrow."  
  
"No. Harry will kill us both, no need discussing that."  
  
"This is James' son Remus."  
  
At the mention of James, Remus looked down at his shoes. Unfortunately for him, Sirius knew that he cared as much as he did about what their dead best friend would want for his son.  
  
"Alright. Lunch."  
  
"Excellent! I'll meet you in the office!" With another small pop, he was gone.  
  
Remus again leaned back in his chair trying to regain the serenity he had felt before. Unfortunately, thanks to Sirius, the serenity was gone.  
  
*  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry smiled when he saw Ginny running towards him from the bookstore. She threw herself in his arms making him stumble, and not from the force of her. Whenever he was around her he became very uncoordinated.  
  
She pulled away and smiled her bright smile up at him. "You're here! I thought we were meeting at my house later?"  
  
"I had to see you earlier."  
  
She smiled even wider and hugged him again, and then tilted her face towards his. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. When they pulled away, he felt short of breath. This woman was going to be the end of him.  
  
"I was also a little nervous."  
  
Ginny cocked her head at him. "Nervous? But you know my parents and my family! It's not as if you've never met them!"  
  
"I know.but it's different now."  
  
"Because.?"  
  
"Well, we're together for one thing."  
  
"And this is reason to be nervous because.?"  
  
Harry threw up his hands. "You're their daughter! And sister! I told you how Ron went ballistic at first. I don't want them to hate me Ginny. Your family means the world to me."  
  
She squeezed his hands. "Harry, you are so wonderful I don't think my parents would be happier with me with anyone else. They adore you. And besides, they've known about us ever since we've been together, which is."  
  
"Five months.in a few days."  
  
She tossed her head back and laughed. "Aren't I the one that should know that?"  
  
"You're sure it won't be weird for them seeing us together?"  
  
"Actually.did I tell you about 'Beat the Boy'?"  
  
"About what?!"  
  
"Beat the Boy! The game my brothers play with my boyfriends."  
  
Harry paled a few shades.  
  
Ginny laughed loudly, "I'm joking Harry! Lighten up a little! It's going to be fine. I promise."  
  
Harry recovered quickly, "I knew you were kidding."  
  
"You did not!"  
  
"I defeated the Dark Lord, you think I'd be afraid of five scrawny boys? Well, six if you count Ron.but then there's Percy who's more than scrawny, so five scrawny boys?"  
  
"I wouldn't call my brothers scrawny, Harry."  
  
He sighed and got a bit pale again. "I know."  
  
*  
  
"BILL!!!"  
  
"Mum, yelling is not necessary." Bill Weasley walked down the stairs into the kitchen, ducking so his head would not hit the doorframe.  
  
"Sorry dear, did not realize you were right there. Where are your brothers?! Ginny and Harry will be here very soon and then need to be here when the arrive!"  
  
Bill sighed and flopped down at the kitchen table. "Fred and George just got home from their joke shop. They're upstairs cleaning up. Charlie and Ron are in the living room with Charlotte and Hermione talking with dad, and Percy is still in his office claiming he may not make it home to dinner because of work."  
  
"Percy and his job! I don't know what we're going to do with him! It's almost as if he doesn't want to come home and spend time with his family." Molly Weasley vigorously poked a chicken with her wand. !  
  
Bill laughed and opted not to say anything.  
  
"Bill darling, how is that young lady you were telling us about the last time you were here? What was her name."  
  
Bill flushed, "Um.Dianna?"  
  
Molly frowned. "I suppose that was her name! How is that going?"  
  
Bill shifted in his chair. "Uh.didn't work out."  
  
"Oh, that's too bad."  
  
"So, Mum, tell me about Ginny and Harry. I haven't heard the details yet."  
  
His mother visibly brightened and began chattering away. Bill sighed grateful that his distraction worked. His love life was definitely something he did not want to discuss with his mum. She wanted all of her children to marry and live happily ever after. Just like Percy did with Penelope, Just like Fred did with Angelina, just like George did with Alicia, and just like now Charlie did with Charlotte. Bill didn't want that. He just wanted to be on his own and doing his own thing. Life was better that way.  
  
Besides, not all the stories had a happy ending. Alicia had been killed during the war, leaving George a widower with no children and no reason to live. Then, he and Fred opened the joke shop and he became George again.well, as much as he could.  
  
Bill had enough to deal with without a woman. With one? He couldn't even imagine.  
  
He tuned back into his mother's monologue to hear, ".and he had roses all over the house! What a charmer he is! They've been together ever since. I haven't seen them together, but they way Ginny talks.they are very much in love. I cannot wait to see the two of them! I wonder where they are.."  
  
*  
  
Snogging is a wonderful thing, Ginny decided as Harry kissed her passionately on the couch in her small living room.  
  
He'd come over to pick her up to go to the Burrow together. The sight of him dressed to kill, and smelling amazing was too much for her senses.  
  
What she didn't know was that she had the same effect on him.  
  
He pulled away briefly to stare into her eyes and she almost gasped. His green eyes were staring at her with such passion and love that it was almost too much to take. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The two of them jumped apart and Ginny rushed to answer the door, not giving her disheveled appearance a thought.  
  
She flung open the door..to find Remus Lupin and Sirius Black standing on her doorstep.  
  
"Professor Lupin.Mr. Black!! What.why.how.?"  
  
Harry was next to her in seconds. "What do you two want? And how on earth did you get Ginny's address? Wait, never mind, I don't want to know. Why are you here?"  
  
"Ginny! You're here." Sirius blurted, fairly surprised.  
  
"Yes.you know since this is her house. I wonder sometimes how they made you Minister," Harry replied.  
  
"All right, well, we'll be going then! Good bye you two, smashing to see you, really!" Remus said, pulling Sirius down and off the porch.  
  
"STOP!"  
  
The two men stopped.  
  
"Turn."  
  
They turned to face Harry.  
  
"Explain."  
  
"Well, you see, there was this thing we wanted to discuss with you."  
  
"In private, no offense Ginny."  
  
"None taken, sir."  
  
"And we assumed you were living here now."  
  
"And thought we'd.drop by."  
  
"Yes! Drop by to say a little hello."  
  
Harry glared suspiciously at the two Marauders that he called his godfathers. A clock inside Ginny's house began to chime.  
  
"Oh no! Harry! My parents! The dinner! We're late! We've got to leave NOW!!!" Ginny cried pulling his arm.  
  
"This is NOT over you two!!" He yelled as he and Ginny disappeared with a pop.  
  
"You are a truly stupid bloke, Sirius."  
  
"Excuse me? I believe you came here with me."  
  
"Do not start with me now. How is it again you have time for this?"  
  
"Well.."  
  
*  
  
Ginny and Harry appeared with a pop outside the Burrow and quickly ran towards the house. Harry's heart was beating wildly with fear as the approached the door. They ran inside and into the kitchen to greet everyone.  
  
Unfortunately, they had forgotten to fix their disheveled appearances before leaving. 


	7. Long Time Coming

A/N: Thanks reviewers! I got a few questions about how Sirius got to be Minister of Magic. That will be answered in a few chapters. Until then.enjoy! I've been really excited to post this chapter because this is where the whole idea for the story stemmed from, this one little idea that I wanted to throw in there. As always, THANK YOU KAT for beta-ing (  
  
Every Day Is A Winding Road Chapter 6, Long Time Coming  
  
*~*  
  
James Potter was running.  
  
As always, he was late.  
  
He blew into the Three Broomsticks and immediately found his three best friends sitting at a table in the back. He grinned and walked over to them.  
  
"Come on! She's quite lovely."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Well, then you're stupid."  
  
"This coming from the guy dating the woman who ran into a window, and yet is still more intelligent then him."  
  
"Hello all!" James greeted them, interrupting Remus and Sirius' debate over Sirius' latest attempt at dating.  
  
"Late, as usual." Remus said without looking up from the book he was reading.  
  
James pulled the book down on the table. "With good reason, I promise you."  
  
"Do tell!" Remus said leaning forward.  
  
"Wait!" Sirius interrupted. "Need some drinks! Rosmerta!"  
  
The waitress nodded at him. The four boys had met there so often that she knew their routine. "Four Butterbeers!"  
  
James turned to Peter Pettigrew who through the whole five minutes since James had arrived, had stayed quiet.  
  
"You alright Pete?"  
  
He jumped at the sound of his name. "OH! Yes.yes." his hands were shaking.  
  
James' brow furrowed. "Alright then."  
  
Rosmerta returned placing four Butterbeers on the table.  
  
"Thank you darling!" said Sirius, blowing her a kiss. She rolled her eyes and walked off.  
  
"Nice one Sirius, she almost looked at you." Remus teased.  
  
Sirius chose to ignore him. "James, buddy, pal, what's in the bag?" he asked, referring to the small bag James had delicately placed in his lap when he sat down.  
  
"I'm glad you asked my friend." He said with a smile. He looked around meeting the eyes of each of his best friends. Since their graduation at Hogwarts three years ago, the foursome had grown apart, but through it all, one thing remained the same. They always met at the Three Broomsticks every second Sunday of each month. The only one of the four who'd been blowing off their meetings more and more, was Peter. He'd gotten some fancy job in Romania, though Remus, Sirius and James had no clue as to what he did.  
  
Remus was working on becoming an auror, while Sirius was aiming, much to the surprise of the other three, to work in the Ministry. "I'll be ruling one day, you'll see" he'd always tell them.  
  
James had been married a year. Happily married. He loved his wife Lily with all his heart, as did his other friends.in a different way of course. They'd had their first child only a few months ago, named Harry after his father. James smiled just at the thought of his precious son.  
  
Remus snapped him out of his reverie. "What are you going to tell us?"  
  
James grinned again and pulled a small box from the bag. On the small, dark blue, velvet box was A Bit Of Magic, the name of the most expensive jewelry store in town.  
  
"James." Remus started, but James opened the box and all talking ceased.  
  
Sitting in the small holder was a ring. Not just any ring but the most beautiful ring any of them had ever seen.  
  
"It's a piece of a meteorite that was found off the coast of America. Most of it sunk to the bottom and turned brown, but there were a few pieces salvaged." James recited softly.  
  
The ring had a gold band and small diamonds on either side of the meteor. The meteor was the amazing thing of course. It glowed a soft, but sparkly red. It reminded them all of..  
  
"Lily's hair. That's why I bought it. It just.reminded me of her in every way. I wanted to get her something special for our one-year anniversary. It's been such an amazing year." James said.  
  
"This is incredible." Sirius said with absolute seriousness. "But.what does this have to do with us."  
  
James closed the box, and they all leaned back into their seats. "I need one of you to hang on to it for about a week and a half. If I keep it, Lily will be sure to find it in the house, since she cleans every inch of it every week. I want this to be the biggest surprise. You all are my closest mates, and I just need one of you to keep it, and we'll meet up in about a week."  
  
"I will, I'm seeing you next week anyway to get that book I need from Lily for class." Remus said.  
  
James nodded. "That's true." He looked at the bag.and silently passed it over to Remus, who held onto it and smiled encouragingly at James.  
  
"I promise I'll take good care of it."  
  
James nodded. "I know. It's just.important you know?"  
  
Remus nodded, "I know."  
  
Sirius clapped James on the back, "Always here for you buddy!"  
  
James smiled and said again, "I know."  
  
*~*  
  
Remus pulled out a key from the drawer in his desk that he kept them in. He walked over to the storage closet, opened it, and knelt know to pulled out a small box from under a trunk. He stuck the key in the rusty lock, and opened the box.  
  
He reached in and pulled out the small, velvet box. He took a deep breath, and opened it.  
  
As he stared at the ring, a tear fell down his face.  
  
The ring was a constant reminder.  
  
It was a constant reminder of his last conversation with one of his best friends.  
  
*  
  
Harry and Ginny rushed into the Burrow.  
  
"Sorry we're late!" Ginny called loudly bustling into the kitchen, Harry right on her heels. The two walked into the room. Everyone who had been talking and laughing, stopped, and looked at the two of them.  
  
The room went completely silent.  
  
"What?" Ginny said.  
  
Harry felt himself pale a couple shades. He looked down at his girlfriend.and realized why they were silent.  
  
Ginny's hair was sticking up in several places, her skirt was quite wrinkled, and the buttons on her shirt were buttoned in the wrong holes.  
  
Ginny turned to meet Harry's eyes.and realized why the family went silent.  
  
His hair was also sticking up in several places, his neatly pressed khakis were wrinkled, he had on miss-matched socks, and there was lipstick on his face.  
  
The two, with their sudden realization, turned back to the table.  
  
Mrs. Weasley had now stood up and her face wasn't red.  
  
It was purple.  
  
Harry gulped.  
  
There was a loud burst of laughter.  
  
All heads turned towards Fred and George.  
  
The twins were laughing very hard. George looked up at their faces and laughed harder.  
  
"You..You..HA!!!!"  
  
Fred inhaled deeply, "Remember those cookies we sent you Gin?"  
  
Ginny looked at him, very confused.  
  
"Remember the cookies Gin?!"  
  
"Um.sure." She said, shooting confused glances at the two boys. Harry caught on though.  
  
"You didn't."  
  
The two boys burst out laughing. Harry turned to the family.  
  
"I'm guessing there was some sort of potion in those.?"  
  
Fred nodded. "Frantilicus Potion, makes you look as frazzled as you feel at the moment."  
  
Ginny caught on. "We ate cookies right before we left because we were early.."  
  
".And then my godfather showed up right as we were leaving." Harry finished.  
  
Mrs. Weasley's face went back to its normal color. "Oh! My! You two scared me for a moment there!" she bustled to the other side of the table where Harry and Ginny stood. She hugged Harry and kissed Ginny's cheek. "So glad you two could come! Have a seat!" As she walked back to her seat she gently smacked Fred and George both upside the head.  
  
*  
  
Dinner went very smoothly, there were no major events once Ginny and Harry were seated. After dinner, Harry was shoved out of the kitchen and he and Ginny decided to take a walk in the backyard. It was then, and only then that they pondered the incident at dinner.  
  
"Frantilicus Potion? I knew your brothers were good jokers but liars? Tsk tsk."  
  
Ginny laughed, "Don't complain! They saved us in there.although I have no idea why. They must want something from me and will use this as blackmail. Good thing you caught onto their plan when you did Harry, or there really would've been a Beat the Boy!"  
  
The two laughed.  
  
"Seriously though" Ginny said as she leaned on Harry's shoulder, "I wonder what it is they want from me."  
  
*  
  
"Do you think it will work?"  
  
"I dunno Fred, this is such an awful way to get it."  
  
"You aren't."  
  
"No, I'm not backing out."  
  
"Good. It looks like they're heading in."  
  
"I wish it didn't have to be like this."  
  
"Me too George. Me too."  
  
*  
  
Hours later, Harry and Ginny stood on her doorstep to her cottage. She sighed and looked up at him. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"  
  
He nodded, "Of course."  
  
Though he knew it was more than that. Ginny wanted to talk about Fred and George, and what they had confronted them with earlier that evening.  
  
She had, of course, been right. They did use the lie they told for the two lovebirds as blackmail. Even if they had plainly asked though, Harry would've been happy to oblige to the request.  
  
It was what they requested that scared him.  
  
He sat down on Ginny's small couch just as she walked out of the kitchen and fell down beside him. She stared up at him.  
  
"Stalkers?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know Gin, I really don't."  
  
"But.why would someone want to stalk my brothers? They work in a joke shop for heavens sake! What would they do to make someone want to stalk them? They just bring joy..for the most part."  
  
Harry shrugged again. "I don't know."  
  
Ginny sighed. "And why, oh why, did they have to come to you? You have so much going on right now, so much that stresses you out as it is, and they had to come to you. They couldn't be sensible for once and go the Department of Magical Safety, no. They had to come to you."  
  
"I'm glad they did Ginny."  
  
She looked up at him confused.  
  
"Stalkers are dangerous business. If they are really and truly stalking your brothers then they would know if they went to the department, and they might do something awful to them."  
  
Ginny shuddered. "Then I guess I should be glad they came to you..what are you going to do?"  
  
He shook his head. "No idea. I've got so many ideas running through my head. I wish they'd told me when they first suspected it instead of waiting this long. Stalkers start far, and get closer and closer.until they get whatever it is they want."  
  
Ginny got up and walked into the kitchen, her thoughts all running together and she put the two mugs of tea on a tray.  
  
It had been a very long night.  
  
*  
  
Remus walked back to his desk as he stared into the depths of the ring. It was just as beautiful as it had been many years ago when James had first trusted it to him.  
  
A tear fell down his cheek as he remembered that James had died only 8 days after handing him the ring.  
  
It was almost as if he knew.  
  
Remus glanced up at the clock on the wall. Seeing that it was late, he closed the box and placed it back in its hiding spot.  
  
He walked into his sleeping chambers and sat on his bed, putting his head in his hands.  
  
As much as he hated to admit it, Sirius was right about the ring. 


End file.
